Single White Female – Review – York Grand Opera House
By Roger Crow, February 2026
As theatregoers, some of us don’t really know what we want until it’s there on stage. And at this time of year, on a freezing dark night when spring still seems months away, the attraction of staying in yet again rather than making a 50-mile round trip to the theatre is an alluring proposition.
Of course if we knew what a good time we were going to have in advance, it would be a far easier sell.
And not having seen the movie Single White Female, or read John Lutz’s source book SWF Seeks Same, it helps not knowing much about the original stories, aside from a few vague memories from when said film was released.
(The movie is set in the States and doesn’t feature a key character in the stage version, whereas the Blighty-based 2026 take on the same story should hit closer to home).
“Too good to be true”
The main attraction for me at least is Kym Marsh, who did such a great job as Michelle Connor, back in the days when Coronation Street was worth watching, that I’m glad I take the plunge. And what a fabulous ride it turns out to be.
Lisa Faulkner is great as Allie, the blonde single mum with a teenage daughter called Bella (Amy Snudden), who is struggling to pay the rent on her swanky apartment. Allie has a vegan gay BFF called Graham (Andro), who offers a shoulder to cry on and words of advice, such as how to help alleviate that financial strain.
Thankfully a few taps on an app, and hey presto! Allie has a flatmate who seems too good to be true. Raven-haired Hedy (Marsh) is a photographer who soon wins Allie and her daughter over, but there’s something not quite right in their apartment paradise. Like a ‘cuckoo’ has just flown in the through the open window and invaded their ‘nest’.
There are flashbacks to a tragedy involving Allie’s ex, Sam (Jonny McGarrity), who is a slave to the bottle, and no doubt has an inner monologue of Heaven 17’s ‘Temptation’ on a loop.
“Unhinged”
So the first act is Hedy settling in; worming her way into the affections of her flat mates, and planting the seeds of doubt that will pay off later. And just before that interval, there’s a discovery in Hedy’s room which could have been a great belly laugh: I thought Graham might say: “What on earth was she thinking matching this dress with those shoes!” But it’s far more serious than that; act two picks up straight after that scene. And that’s where the fun really begins.
Naturally the full extent of Hedy’s unhinged nature is revealed, and we’re off on a rollercoaster of revelations, seduction, and that staple of nearly all TV drama these days, gaslighting.
All of the cast are terrific as they spin assorted plates, and though there are a few tech issues (the sound has more snap crackle and pop than a certain cereal in the first act, and that wafting skyrise backdrop needs to be more secure, but it matters little). The lighting around the proscenium is fabulous, and the fixed set is terrific.
And when things do ramp up for that edge-of-the-seat second act, the bulk of which rests of Marsh’s shoulders, she has a ball as the seductive vamp who naturally leads Bella down a deceitful path, remotely getting even with school bullies one day and skipping school the next. And when Hedy sets her sights on Sam, the scene is set for one of the most memorable seductions you’ll ever see on stage.
Of course part of the plot rests on: ‘Would Sam risk everything as he’s possibly seduced (with help from a spiked drink)?’. Channelling a blonde Jessica Rabbit; Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct and Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction, Hedy is a delicious femme fatale, so that’s a definite yes. And the most memorable pay-off involving an item of footwear (seeded early on) is eye-watering in more ways than one.
“Seeds of evil”
Adapted by Rebecca Reid and superbly directed by Gordon Greenberg, Single White Female – the stage play – is a hugely enjoyable experience, with a great cast, thrilling moments, and bold moves which reminds you how great live theatre can be.
I’d have been fascinated to view it again with the two leads swapping roles, just to see if it had been as effective, but that’s a hypothetical offering which might happen one day. Would it be as successful? Who knows?
The play would probably have been stronger without that final scene, which suggests the seeds of evil have blossomed beyond the defenestration denouement, but it hardly matters.
The version you’ll hopefully see at Grand Opera House York is a fabulous experience which should be talked about for years to come.
An eye-popping, jaw-dropping crowd-pleaser. It would be a crime to miss it.
Single White Female is at York Grand Opera House until 7th Feb
images: Chris Bishop
Adopted Yorkshireman Roger Crow developed a passion for film and TV in the 1970s and 1980s. He has been a published film and TV reviewer since the 1990s; a world travel and restaurant critic since the noughties, and for the past decade has assessed the pros and cons of live gigs and theatre productions around the UK. His ideal day would involve reviewing a performance of Bat Out of Hell, followed by a Pad Thai while being serenaded by Texas on a cruise around Europe.
crowsfeat.com; nostalgiahhh film podcast
